


Indestructible

by EnchantedbookLover18



Category: NCIS
Genre: Cinnamon girl by Lana Del Rey, Drug Addiction, F/M, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, ellicksongchallenge week 4, missingepisodeschallenge prompt 4, post-16x24 Daughters, post-17x08 Musical Chairs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24961060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnchantedbookLover18/pseuds/EnchantedbookLover18
Summary: "My heart is bound by beauty's spell.My love is indestructible.Although I like a candle burn,And almost to a shadow turn,I envy not the heart that's free:Love's soul-encircling chains for me."- Nizami Ganjavi, Layla and Majnun
Relationships: Ellie Bishop & Nick Torres, Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 19
Kudos: 21
Collections: The Missing Episodes





	1. In Chains

**Author's Note:**

> #ellicksongchallenge week 4: song with a color in the title -> Cinnamon Girl by Lana Del Rey (don't look at me if this doesn't fit perfectly🙈😂it was incredibly hard to find a song. Fyi: "Cinnamon is a warm, medium shade of brown. ... Cinnamon is darker than shades like tan and beige but lighter than chocolate or true brown." (Google) I did my homework ha-ha.) 😂😂
> 
> #missingepisodeschallenge prompt 4: Tobias and Emily
> 
> On that note: I'm not good at these case-related things so just bear with me please❤  
> Thank you!! And I hope you have fun❤💙xoxo

**“Leaving his cell phone, I get. But his wallet and badge?” Ellie frowned. Their boss’s behaviour really bothered her.**

**Nick took a quick glance at Ellie in the passenger seat, then turned his attention back to the stakeout, and Ned’s Nuggets. “I have a funny feeling this has nothing to do with Emily Fornell.”**

**“What if Gibbs needs our help?” The blonde agent asked.**

**“We’ve been down this road before. If he needs it, he’ll ask.” Nick stated matter-of-factly.**

“El, hey,” Nick said, putting a hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “I asked you something.”

“Huh?” She turned her head in confusion, sitting on Nick’s couch, blankly staring on the wall. “Oh! Right. Sorry. What did you ask me? I must’ve zoned out for a bit.” She gave him a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“I asked: Sushi or Italian? For dinner.” Nick said calmly, giving her a genuinely concerned look. “What’re you thinking about?”

_Cinnamon in my teeth_

_From your kiss, you're touching me_

_All the pills that you take_

_Violet, blue, green, red to keep me at arm's length don't work_

_You try to push me out, but I just find my way back in_

_Violet, blue, green, red to keep me out, I win_

“Hm. Italian.” Ellie didn’t have to think twice about the answer. A good pizza was everything she needed right now. Pizza and a nice, quiet movie night with her best friend and co-worker for whom she might have more than just friendly feelings…But Ellie wasn’t ready to go there yet, it had taken long enough for her to convince Nick to let her in again. She knew that he thought she didn’t have faith in him – he thought she believed he killed the woman at the gym under drug influence. Ellie had done everything in her power to make it up to Nick, to show him that she _had_ faith in him, that she believed in the good in him. But even though they were friends again – best friends, both had still a long way to go. And movie night was just a small step on their list.

“Ok. I’ll make the call.” Nick nodded in agreement but didn’t leave her side. He was still waiting for an answer.

“I was thinking about Emily. Fornell. And Gibbs,” Ellie rolled her eyes at herself. They’d been gone through this before. After Gibbs had disappeared in the middle of their Navy-band-drug-smuggling case and claimed Fornell needed his help with Emily, the team had briefly talked about Gibbs’ weird behaviour. But it had come to nothing. And when they all attended the concert, their boss had magically reappeared. Case closed. Or not?

“I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. I know, you don’t think it was Emily-related but –”

“Yeah. I thought it was Ziva.” Nick interrupted her.

“Hm. I don’t think it was. Don’t ask why – I can’t explain. It may be just a hunch…” Ellie sighed, then she stood up to turn on the TV. Time for some distraction. Neither of them could do anything at the moment, so they might just as well enjoy themselves.

A few hours, three pizzas and one and a half movies later, Nick’s phone dinged. The Latino leaned forward and looked at his phone. A new message.

Timothy McGee: HQ. Asap. Gibbs needs us. Call Ellie please?

Nick’s brow furrowed. It was already 10.30 pm and this certainly didn’t sound like a normal case.

Nick Torres: Be right there. Ellie’s already with me.

_There's things I wanna say to you, but I'll just let you live_

_Like if you hold me without hurting me_

_You'll be the first who ever did_

_There's things I wanna talk about, but better not to give_

_But if you hold me without hurting me_

_You'll be the first who ever did_

_Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah_

_Hold me, love me, touch me, honey_

_Be the first who ever did_

_Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah_

_Hold me, love me, touch me, honey_

_Be the first who ever did_

Nick leaned back against the couch and looked at the beautiful blonde, peacefully sleeping next to him. He smiled at her displayed long locks and the little pout she made in her sleep. It would be so easy to just lean over and touch her, move the blonde lock out of her face, place a small kiss on her cheeks. She had no idea how much it meant to him that they met for mandatory movie night every week – just the two of them. She had also no clue that he was desperately in love with her. Every single day they worked together he found himself worried about her wellbeing in the field, smiling across the bullpen to Ellie, a pencil between her lips, trying to figure something out. It was the small things, which got more and more overwhelming over time, that made him realise he had it bad for the blonde agent. But however much he tried to hide it, tried to cover it by dating other women, it didn’t make his feelings go away. Nick was falling deeper and deeper and Ellie had no idea. And he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He’d heard about her bad marriage – and cheating ex-husband – from McGee and he’d seen first-hand how crushed she was when Qasim was killed. He couldn’t risk hurting her – their job was too dangerous.

Sighing, Nick moved a little towards Ellie on the couch and nudged her shoulder, carefully waking her up. “Hey, sleeping beauty. We have to go. Gibbs and McGee need us at the Navy Yard.”

Half an hour later Nick parked his Jeep in the underground parking lot, Ellie sitting in the passenger seat, still searching for a scrunchy in her backpack (or so he’d figured from her jittery mumbling). While she was so caught up in her search, Nick got out of the car and walked around it, opening the door for her. “You good?”

“Yeah. I got it, “Ellie muttered triumphantly, climbing out of his Jeep.

_Kerosene in my hands_

_You make me mad, on fire again_

_All the pills that you take_

_Violet, blue, green, red to keep me at arm's length don't work_

_There's things I wanna say to you, but I'll just let you live_

_Like if you hold me without hurting me_

_You'll be the first who ever did_

_There's things I wanna talk about, but better not to give_

_But if you hold me without hurting me_

_You'll be the first who ever did_

They walked in silence to the elevator, both caught up in their thoughts.

Once inside, Ellie spoke again. “What do you think this is about?”

“Not one of our usual cases, that’s for sure. Even texting!McGee has a tell. He seemed off. Maybe Ziva again?”

“Hm,” Ellie hummed uneasily just as the elevator doors opened to reveal the bullpen.

Walking closer, both agents shared a look of concern at the sight in front of them. Gibbs and McGee stood in front of the screen, McGee pointing at something on the map. Next to them, Tobias and Emily seemed to be in a heated argument from the looks on their faces.

“Fornell. Emily. How’re doing?” Ellie asked, openly curious but still mildly confused. Maybe her hunch hadn’t been so wrong after all.

_Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah_

_Hold me, love me, touch me, honey_

_Be the first who ever did_

_Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah_

_Hold me, love me, touch me, honey_

_Be the first who ever did_

_There's things I wanna say to you, but I'll just let you live_

_Like if you hold me without hurting me_

_You'll be the first who ever did_

_There's things I wanna talk about, but better not to give_

_Like if you hold me without hurting me_

_You'll be the first who ever did_

Emily looked at Ellie, a small, tight smile on her lips. “Better. Thanks, Agent Bishop.”

Ellie returned the smile softly, her brows furrowed. She’d always had a soft spot for the young woman. Ever since Emily had helped to catch her own kidnapper. And later, when the girl had lost her mother, Ellie had offered Tobias to talk to Emily if she ever needed a female confidant.

“Nick. Eleanor. Nice to see you again. But as much as I’d like to exchange pleasantries, we have more important matters to discuss.” Tobias Fornell said bluntly, turning around to face the screen, and Gibbs.

“What’s going on here?” Nick finally chimed in, coming to stand next to McGee.

“We have a new lead. Remember the pharmacist who supplied Ralphie with counterfeit opioids? You know, Ralphie who gave Emily these opioids that got her send to the ER?” McGee asked, his eyes never leaving the screen as he spoke.

“Yeah. Sure. Did you think there was more to it, Gibbs? The drugs came across the border from Canada, right?” Ellie glanced at her boss. The Fornells stood a little off to the side behind team Gibbs.

“I thought McGee was supposed to give the information from the BOLO to the DEA,” Nick said although it was fairly obvious neither Fornell nor Gibbs or McGee had let this case go. Which wasn’t all too surprising. “It seems you haven’t given the case up after all.”


	2. Loyalty Binds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter for the story everyone has probably already forgotten about - but you'll get it anyway. Enjoy & I hope you'll like it anway!

“As Fornell and Gibbs have found out over the last few months – off the grid, of course – the drug supply originates in Canada but it’s actually much bigger. The Agueci cartel operates out of Hamilton, Ontario. The Agueci brothers have tight family connections to Sicilian Mafiosi –” McGee began to explain agitatedly but was interrupted by a very impatient Tobias Fornell.

“They’re smuggling heroin and high-level opioids from Europe into Canada and the US. With connections all over the countries, they even managed to flood university campuses and schools. Emily’s college was only one of many.” The former FBI agent rushed through the details.

“What’s the plan?” Ellie asked, shooting secret worried glances at Nick. She knew he hated when children and teenagers were involved. And a drug smuggling ring that seemed to specifically target high school and colleges? Bad news.

“The Canadians have been working with Interpol for a while – they have a mole inside the higher ranks of the cartel as of two weeks ago. Agent Rodriguez has managed to work himself to the top,” McGee explained and saw from the looks his teammates, especially Nick, shot him that they were pissed. After all, he’d withhold important information. This time it wasn’t Ellie who kept secrets from the other two – it was McGee.

“Interpol and the Canadian agencies are going to raid their headquarters early tomorrow morning.”

“Meanwhile, our agencies will raid the bigger splinter groups all over the country,” Fornell went on. “We found out that one of their top-notch dealers has his little minions all across Washington D.C. and Virginia, on every college campus. He gets the drugs from the Agueci brothers in Canada. But he’s formed a little group around himself – they all follow his order – and sells the opioids to teachers and students. That’s how they got on Emily’s campus. Spiked drinks by students. The hospital pharmacist wasn’t the only one. He was only a middle man. They also handed the drugs to willing and naïve teenagers directly.”

While Tobias explained their findings, Emily stood at Ellie’s desk, fidgeting with her fingers. It was fairly obvious that she felt uncomfortable. She’d just been another willing teenager who got hooked on drugs.

“So, we’ll bust them tonight.” Nick asserted; it wasn’t a question. “Who’s the head in town?”

Nick couldn’t help but look back and forth between Emily Fornell and Ellie. Thankfully, neither of them seemed to notice. Kasie’s words replayed in his head over and over again.

_“What would your dad do to some guy who tried to drug you?”  
“Probably the same thing that you’d do if someone tried to do that to Bishop.”_

Kasie was right back then. Ever since she’d said that Nick couldn’t stop thinking ‘what if this was Bishop in the hospital bed?’ What if Ellie’s drink would have been spiked at a party and he wasn’t there? It happened often enough that a dirtbag rapist targets women in the clubs and bars and waits until they’re alone to…Nick couldn’t even finish his thoughts. Sure, Emily’s drink hadn’t been spiked, after all, she’d gotten hooked on opioids long before the incident that almost cost her life. But there were bad people out there selling drugs to teenagers. Children. Young people, like Emily, who’d lost their way, who made a mistake that could ruin their lives forever.

Suddenly, Gibbs interrupted Nick’s train of thoughts. “Alex Johnson. He’s a professor at George Washington University.”

“Wait. Isn’t that –?” Ellie blurted out as recognition set in.

“My university. Yes.” It was the first time in a while Emily said something. “He’s a professor at my college. And he was _my_ professor. I know him.”

Subconsciously, Ellie and Nick turned their heads away from Emily to look at each other. _That_ finally explained why the young woman was here.

“Needless to say, Professor Johnson heard of Emily’s hospital visit and opioid overdose. About one and a half weeks ago Emily was able to go to university and attend classes again for the first time in months. After two stays in rehab and a relapse…The professor got suspicious – saw me and Gibbs here with his badge on campus with Em – and began to ask questions.” Fornell clarified with a worried expression towards his daughter.

“We don’t know for sure if he’s on to something. But rumours about Emily were running wild on campus. She needs protection while we raid the warehouse out of which Johnson operates.” The team leader started. “Just in case. He has heavily armed minions everywhere across town. We can’t risk it.”

“Bishop,” Gibbs addressed the female agent. “You’re on protective detail. You have a bond with Emily – she trusts you.” Emily rolled her eyes at uncle Gibbs. She’d hoped he wouldn’t call her out like this after he’d asked her.

“You’re a good agent. I trust you with my daughter’s life,” Fornell added.

“On it, boss.” Ellie was baffled at first and considered objection because she was a damn badass federal agent and could very well handle herself in the field. But as soon as she realised that Fornell and Gibbs put all their trust in Ellie to protect Emily – their child (Gibbs basically raised her too) – and Emily – from the sideways looks she gave Gibbs – wanted her as protective detail, Ellie just couldn’t find it in herself to object.

“Tobias, you should stay with Emily.” The grey-haired agent tried to reason with his friend.

“No way. I’m coming with you,” he responded bluntly, a stern expression on his face. “We’ve come this far. I won’t back away now.”

Jethro Gibbs shook his head slightly but shrugged his shoulders. He’d known this would come but he had to at least try. “Fine. I already talked to Vance anyway. You’ve got clearance.”

“Good. Let’s go,” the former FBI agent, now private investigator walked over to his daughter and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Be safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love some comments, inspo or your thoughts on how it'll continue if you have any! 💕

**Author's Note:**

> You're more than welcome to share ideas or thoughts or feelings with me❤❤love y'all!
> 
> Special thanks to @indestinatus for giving me song ideas and @tiffanytheweirdo for brainstroming and being my beta ❤😘


End file.
